Before 2017: Texas Was Not as Knife-Friendly as You Think
People assume Texas has always been the Wild West when it comes to knives. It was not. Before September 1, 2017, Texas Penal Code classified switchblades, gravity knives, and any knife with a blade over 5.5 inches as "illegal knives." Carrying one could get you a Class A misdemeanor — up to a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine.
That meant the Bowie knife — a blade literally born in Texas, forged for Jim Bowie by a blacksmith in the 1830s — was illegal to carry in the state that made it famous. A state full of ranchers, hunters, and outdoorsmen could not legally pocket a switchblade. The law was absurd, and a lot of Texans knew it.
House Bill 1935: What Actually Changed
Representative John Frullo (R-Lubbock) authored HB 1935, which Governor Greg Abbott signed into law on June 15, 2017. Effective September 1, 2017, the bill eliminated the category of "illegal knives" from the Texas Penal Code entirely.
What it did, specifically:
- Removed switchblades, gravity knives, and daggers from the prohibited list
- Eliminated blade length restrictions for adults 18+
- Created a new category called "location-restricted knife" — any knife with a blade over 5.5 inches
- Location-restricted knives cannot be carried in schools, polling places, courts, racetracks, secured airport areas, and certain government buildings
- All other knives — including OTF knives, switchblades, stilettos, and Bowie knives — became legal to own, carry openly, and carry concealed
What Is Legal Now: The Plain-English Version
OTF knives: Legal to own, carry, buy, sell. No restrictions on blade length (under 5.5 inches for restricted locations). Shop OTF knives
Switchblades (side-opening automatics): Legal. No restrictions. Shop switchblades
Stilettos: Legal. Italian-style, leverlock, whatever the mechanism — all legal in Texas.
Assisted openers: Legal — and they were already legal before HB 1935, since they are not classified as automatic knives. Shop assisted openers
Bowie knives and fixed blades: Legal. Location restrictions apply if the blade exceeds 5.5 inches. Shop fixed blades
Butterfly knives: Legal. Shop butterfly knives
Location Restrictions: Where You Still Cannot Carry
If your knife blade is over 5.5 inches, you cannot carry it in:
- Schools and educational institutions
- Polling places on election day
- Courts and court offices
- Racetracks
- Secured areas of airports
- Within 1,000 feet of a premises designated for execution of a death warrant
If the blade is under 5.5 inches, these restrictions do not apply. Most OTF knives and automatic knives we sell have blades well under 5.5 inches.
Age Requirements
You must be 18 or older to carry a knife in Texas. Under 18, you can possess a knife on your own property or under direct supervision, but cannot carry in public. There is no separate licensing or permitting system for knives in Texas — if you are 18, you are good.
The Bigger Picture: Why 2017 Mattered
HB 1935 did not just change a law. It corrected a sixty-year mistake. The federal Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 — passed on the back of sensationalized newspaper stories about teen gang violence — banned interstate commerce in automatic knives. Most states followed with their own bans. Texas was one of them.
For decades, an entire category of American tool-making was suppressed by legislation based on Hollywood stereotypes. HB 1935 recognized what anyone who carries a knife already knew: the mechanism that opens a blade has nothing to do with whether the person holding it is dangerous.
Texas got it right. And now every type of automatic knife ships legally from our Richardson, TX warehouse — OTFs, switchblades, assisted openers, all of it. Tested before shipping. Legal to own and carry.